On the first Saturday of May,
people gather in over 400 cities worldwide to celebrate cannabis hemp. The 16th
annual Los Angeles Global Cannabis March (also known as the Million Marijuana
March) marched at high noon along Crenshaw Boulevard to Leimert Park on Saturday,
May 3, 2013.

LOS ANGELES — Despite multiple
last minute changes at the whim of the LAPD and the City of Los Angeles, the 16th
annual Global Cannabis March took place on Saturday May 3rd in
solidarity with hundreds of cities around the world.

Three
days prior to the event, the permit holder was informed that construction on
the Crenshaw Metro line required a shortening of the parade route. Social networks and phone chains buzzed as the
last minute change of plans was communicated to attendees. Considering the hot
weather predicted , no one minded learning they would be walking a shorter
distance, but not everyone could be informed of the change before the day of
the event.

The announcement that police
would not close the street was delivered after people had traveled from
Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, San Diego, and Ventura counties to assemble in
Los Angeles. No one was inclined to move the date of a global hemp revolution event
already in progress, so the crowd decided take the sidewalk along the parade
route.

After a quick reminder for cars
to obey all traffic signals and pedestrian marchers to leave passing room on
the sidewalk, the march took off towards Leimert Park. Cars covered with sparkly
green leaves and messages celebrating the benefits of hemp honked their horns
as nearly one hundred people marched on foot.

“Change Bad Laws: Get on a Jury” declared a banner running the full length of
one red sports car. Jury nullification refers to your Constitutional right to
vote “not guilty” on immoral or unjust laws (such as putting human beings in
prison for growing or possessing a plant) if you sit on a jury.

“If nature is illegal, then
freedom does not exist” observed a banner on a pick-up truck. Other signs on
the truck mentioned the California Cannabis Hemp Initiative 2016 (or “Jack
Herer” initiative), which is the only California initiative to truly repeal
prohibition, fully legalize hemp for all uses, and free the pot prisoners.

Volunteers from The Human Solution, NORML Women’s Alliance, and Orange County NORML formed a contingent
to honor cannabis prisoners of war (POWs) serving time behind bars for a plant.
As the march traveled along Crenshaw Boulevard, 3-foot tall signs bearing the
pictures of marijuana POWs caught the attention of passerby and traffic.

An
8-foot wide banner spanning the sidewalk pleaded “A Marijuana Offense Should
Not Equal a Life Sentence. Set them Free!” Another sign listed the names of 22
people serving life sentences for marijuana.

In 1994, Paul Free was convicted
of the crime committed by a now-deceased DEA agent. He has served 19 years of
his life sentence. Unless he gets a pardon or commuted sentence from the
President he will die in prison. https://www.facebook.com/FreePaulFree/

Champion race car driver and father
of two Randy Lanier has been incarcerated since 1987. After he refused to
testify against his codefendants, he was charged with being the principal
administrator of a “continual criminal enterprise,” which carries a mandatory
minimum sentence of life without parole. http://www.randylanier.com

Also represented in Saturday’s
Global Cannabis March were prisoners who were convicted in federal court
despite complying with California state medical marijuana laws. Aaron Sandusky,
Luke Scarmazzo, Roger Christie, and Eddy Lepp were among the federal prisoners depicted
on signs.

Hemptivist Dr. Mesmer carried a “Phytoremediate
Fukushima” sign in the march. Phytoremediation is the process of using plants
to clean a toxic environment. Large scale hemp planting has the potential to
reduce air pollution and scrub toxic substances from the soil.

A single LAPD squad car escorted
the march down Crenshaw. The officers did not cite anyone for pedestrian
violations, despite photographers stepping into the road to take
pictures. The decorated vehicles accompanying the parade were permitted to
travel below the legal minimum speed.

This year’s cannabis march was
dedicated in loving memory of Richard Davis of the USA Hemp Museum (who passed
away this year) and Sister Somaya Kambui. Both brave cannabis pioneers produced
the early Los Angeles global marijuana marches and contributed to the event
until their passing. Sister Somayah would open the rallies with her battle cry,
“Don’t Be Scared,” and she always carried a hemp plant with her in the parade.

Medical marijuana pioneer Richard
Eastman greeted the march at Leimert Park. He returned from Washington, D.C. to
attend the march, but did not receive notice of the last minute formation change.

Speeches in the park celebrated
California’s status as the first state in the nation to allow medical
marijuana. One person wondered, “given
the level of air pollution experienced in Los Angeles, could [we] be an extreme
beneficiary of large scale hemp planting to remove excess CO2 from the
atmosphere?”

“Hemp is an awesome, non toxic technology that we should be using on a grand
scale. It is imperative that we implement the hemp solution now, to Fukushima,
fracking, GMOs, illnesses that cannabis cures, and industrial uses.” You can
make over 50,000 items from hemp, including bio-fuels, building materials,
plastics, papers, foods, oils, dyes, fibers, buds (all of which can be used as
4D & 3D printing filaments/inks). Hemp has “so many life-improving and -saving
capabilities…no wonder marijuana is illegal.”

Another hempster noted, “It is
way past time for We, the People to take back our relationship with Mother
Nature. The government has created so many more problems with their drug war
policy.”

The Human Solution founder Joe
Grumbine, a veteran of a four year court battle for operating a Long Beach
dispensary, spoke about the need to channel energy into contacting our elected
representatives. “How many of you know the name of your representative?” he
challenged the crowd.

We, the People vote in the
Congress that has the power to make laws. We all know that the majority of the
public disagrees with the Drug War, so why do we allow it to continue on? It is
time to make our law enforcement system representative of the will of the
people. It’s time to end Prohibition.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.